The Beast – ‘A 3D Printer So Large it Could Print a Child’ Unveiled by cultivate3D

The great thing about the desktop 3D printing space is the number of choices one has when setting out to purchase a new machine. This of course can be a challenge as well. For instance there are machines capable of only printing objects no larger that 4 inches in all directions, and then there are those giant machines capable of, well, printing a small child, or at least a 3D model of one.

There are several companies within the FDM/FFF 3D printer space offering large-scale machines, namely BigRep and 3DPUnlimited. These companies produce 3D printers with build envelopes measured by meters or feet rather than millimeters, centimeters or inches. And today we got word that yet another company, located in Wyong, Australia, called cultivate3D, will be joining these big boys with a 3D printer of their own, rightfully named ‘The Beast.’

While details still are a bit scant in the early going, the name, ‘The Beast,’ doesn’t simply imply a large build envelope, which the company says will be 470 x 435 x 690 mm, but also an incredibly precise machine (0.00125mm in the Z direction and 0.00625mm in the X and Y directions). capable of fabricating multiple objects in one go. This synchronized printing capability makes The Beast a must-have machine for those looking to mass produce both small and large objects in a fraction of the time that an ordinary desktop 3D printer would. Using four extruders, which can be synchronized with each other to replicate up to four of the same objects, The Beast truly lives up to its name.  A few additional specification can be found below:

• Printer Size: 690 x 715 x 1110mm
• Printer Weight: 30Kg
• Total Build Volume (Single Extruder Configuration) 470 x 435 x 690mm
• Build volume (2x Extruder Configuration) 230 x 435 x 690mm
• Build volume (4x Extruder Configuration) 230 x 214 x 690mm
• Material Size and Compatibility: (J-Head Model) – PLA, ABS – (E3D Model) All Filament types available at 1.75mm
• Nozzle Diameter: 0.25-1mm Available

The company also says that they have a number of great add-ons for The Beast, which will ultimately transform its capabilities. More information on this will be forthcoming.

“Combining the best in print quality with the huge build volume, with the Beast’s precise motion system you’ll get an extremely fine print resolution at an enormous,” explained the company. “We’ve put a ton of effort into making all core structural components as precise as possible, with the best quality laser cut components.”

The young company, owned and operated by two brothers, Dan and Josh Herlihy, has set a goal to make 3D printing accessible to as many people as possible within Australia. And they plan to do just that by offering up a variety of 3D printer kits as well as components and materials at affordable prices. Additionally though, they are creating their own machines which take a step or two outside the typical box that most 3D printer manufacturers work within. The Beast is one such machine.

While pricing details have yet to be announced, the company says that The Beast will be available shortly for pre-order via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. To save on costs, which subsequently translates into a lower price for their customers, cultivate3D has purposefully left out any type of fancy exterior for this large machine, instead opting for a simplistic open frame design.

While there are other large-format 3D printers on the market, as well as machines which can print multiple copies of an item simultaneously, this machine seems like the first to offer such capabilities at such a large scale, and could certainly spawn other companies to begin manufacturing mass-production type 3D printers in the future.

Let us know if you plan on backing this project once it hits Kickstarter. Discuss in the cultivate3D The Beast forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the short promo video for this new 3D printer below: